Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 282: Yingzhou Governor Liu Rengui

The seat of Yingzhou, Liucheng, the study of the Governor's Office.

It was dark and an oil lamp was lit in the study. Liu Rengui was sitting behind the desk reading a book in the light.

After being away from the court, his life became more fulfilling.

During the day he handled various government affairs of Yingzhou, trained soldiers, and encouraged people to engage in agriculture and sericulture. At night he read widely to expand his knowledge, and he would never rest until three o'clock in the morning.

The situation in Liaodong has been unstable recently, and various countries are ready to make moves, but he remains as steady as a rock and has become the backbone of the Yingzhou Military Governor's Office.

Yingzhou is a cold and harsh place, and Liu Rengui has always been frugal. He used rapeseed oil for the oil lamp, which is not durable. He had to add oil every time he read for a while.

Seeing the light from the oil lamp gradually dimming, Liu Rengui was about to add more oil when he suddenly heard the sound of boots outside, followed by a knock on the door.

Liu Rengui: "Come in."

With a creaky sound, the study door was pushed open and two men in military uniforms walked in.

These two people were his two deputies, Deputy Governor of Yingzhou, Gao Kan and Liu Renyuan.

Both of them had smiles on their faces.

Liu Renyuan grinned and said, "Commander-in-Chief, the news from Chang'an is indeed accurate. Someone disguised himself as a confidant of Prince Consort Zhou and came to Yingzhou, holding Prince Consort Zhou's fish talisman and a sealed letter."

Liu Renguidao: "Who are you looking for?"

Liu Renyuan glanced at Gao Kan and said with a smile, "Brother Gao guessed right. It's the guerrilla general Pan Long you're looking for."

Liu Rengui added oil to the lamp while saying, "Since they are looking for Pan Long, it means their goal is to go by sea."

The reason why Yingzhou was the most important barrier in the northeast of the Tang Dynasty was due to its important geographical location.

To the east of Yingzhou is Goguryeo, to the north is Khitan, and to the south is the sea.

If Goguryeo wanted to invade the Tang Dynasty, it had to take Yingzhou first. If Khitan wanted to attack the Tang Dynasty, it had to take Yingzhou first. Otherwise, the Tang army would advance directly north and easily take down the Khitan king.

Yingzhou is a place surrounded by four battles, so it is naturally heavily guarded. There are a total of 28 fortresses distributed in the north and east to guard against Goguryeo and Khitan.

Even if Goguryeo and Khitan joined forces to attack, it would be difficult to shake the Yingzhou fortress. In addition, due to the powerful combat capability of the Tang army, almost no one dared to attack Yingzhou.

However, then again, if we must attack Yingzhou, there is actually a loophole, which is the southern coastline.

Goguryeo could sail out to sea from Jili City and attack Yingzhou by water.

Naturally, the Tang Dynasty would not allow its weaknesses to be exposed.

The Tang army's shipbuilding technology was originally far superior to that of Goguryeo, and the gap in the strength of the two countries' navies was even greater than the gap between their armies.

When Goguryeo attacked the Tang Dynasty, it never chose to attack from the sea route south of Yingzhou in order to avoid fighting with the Tang Dynasty navy.

Although the Tang Dynasty's navy was strong, the locations where the navy could be deployed were limited and it was impossible to cover the long coastline.

If the enemy obtained the deployment map of the Tang Dynasty navy, they could send a fleet to bypass the defense of the main force of the Tang Dynasty navy and quietly land.

In this way, they can bypass the countless fortresses outside Liucheng and go straight to the capital of Liucheng!

After all, the attack on Liucheng caused panic on the front line. If Goguryeo and Khitan launched another fierce attack, they would have a good chance of breaking into Yingzhou.

Pan Long, the guerrilla general, is responsible for the deployment of part of the navy on the south bank of Yingzhou. The naval deployment map can be obtained from him.

Liu Renyuan smiled and said, "Once Pan Long gives them the fake defense map, we can wait for those idiots to come to us on their own initiative."

Liu Rengui looked at Gao Kan and said, "General Gao, do you have any other comments?"

Gao Kan said in a deep voice, "In my opinion, we can send people to contact the Eastern Turks and Shiwei and ask them to assist in the battle."

Liu Renyuan frowned and said, "I can't trust these barbarians. If I tell them my plan, it might be leaked to the Khitan and Goguryeo."

Gao Kan said, "There's no need to tell them the plan. Just give them an order: if they discover that the Khitan are rebelling against the Tang, they are to attack!"

Liu Renyuan frowned and said, "With such ambiguous orders, I'm afraid they will just be cunning and unwilling to contribute."

Gao Kan said, "That's fine. I didn't expect them to be the main force. I just needed them to make a move at the end."

Liu Rengui stared at him and said, "General Gao, do you mean that we should allow them to send troops after we defeat the Khitan, Goguryeo, and Baekje?"

Gao Kan said coldly, "Yes, it is difficult to completely destroy the Khitan with our army's strength alone. With the help of these Hu people, we can deal the Khitan the heaviest blow as quickly as possible and let them know the consequences of betrayal!"

Liu Rengui looked at Liu Renyuan and asked, "What's General Liu's opinion?"

Liu Renyuan said, "I only have one thing to say. The Khitan and the Xi people have always had a good relationship. If the Khitan betray us, the Xi people will also be unreliable. General Gao, be careful."

After listening to this, Gao Kan nodded and said, "I know."

He was responsible for the defense of the north of Yingzhou, and it would be his responsibility to deal with the Khitan and Xi people.

Seeing that the two had reached an agreement, Liu Rengui said, "Then immediately send an attack order to the Eastern Turks and the Shiwei tribes."

They both said in unison, "Yes."

Throughout July, the Liaodong region was shrouded in the fog of war, as if a storm was about to come.

The alliance between Khitan, Goguryeo and Baekje has gradually shifted from the dark side to the open side.

Khitan and Goguryeo have already gathered their troops on the border of the Tang Dynasty, and Baekje is also secretly preparing its navy.

The Tang Dynasty's behavior of driving out various ethnic groups in Mobei also made the ethnic groups dissatisfied.

Although they did not rebel against the Tang Dynasty, deep down they all hoped that the Tang Dynasty would be defeated so that they could take the opportunity to invade the northern desert.

Only Silla had no interest in Mobei.

However, the Tang Dynasty repeatedly rejected their requests to send troops, which also caused Silla's attitude towards the Tang Dynasty to change.

Seeing that Baekje and Goguryeo were preparing to join forces to deal with the Tang Dynasty, the Silla king and his ministers were all waiting to watch the fun.

At the same time, they were also thinking that the Tang Dynasty would send envoys to ask for help.

King Kim Chunchu of Silla had even planned that when the Tang envoy arrived, he would pretend to be sick and ignore him for half a day before going to see him. This also made the Tang people understand that although Silla was vassal to the Tang, the Tang also had times when it needed help from Silla, and that it should not ignore Silla's requests in the future.

However, after waiting for a few days, the envoy from the Tang Dynasty did not arrive, and Jin Renwen, who was on a diplomatic mission to Chang'an, returned to Silla first.

The Silla people worshipped tigers, and their thrones were made in the shape of tigers.

Inside the rear hall of the palace, King Kim Chun-chu of Silla was sitting high on a tiger chair, meeting Kim In-mun.

Silla Crown Prince Kim Beom-min and Silla General Kim Yu-sin stood on his left and right respectively.

In addition, there are ministers such as the sacred bones and true bones of the three major royal families of Silla, standing in two rows in the hall.

Looking at the situation, it seems like receiving foreign envoys.

Jin Renwen came into the palace and, after paying his respects to Jin Chunqiu, said, "Father, Goguryeo and Baekje are planning to join forces with the Khitan to attack the Tang Dynasty. Has anyone back home heard the news?"

Before Jin Chunqiu could speak, Crown Prince Jin Famin, who was standing next to him, spoke.

"We've been keeping an eye on Baekje and Goguryeo, so we naturally know. Third brother, did the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty send you back to request that we send troops to rescue them?"

Jin Renwen shook his head and said, "I came back on my own."

After hearing this, the faces of the Silla leaders turned gloomy.

King Jin Chunqiu of Silla said sullenly, "Who told you to come back without permission?"

Jin Ren asked: "Father, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty is now indifferent to our Silla. This is a good opportunity."

Jin Chunqiu snorted, "What good opportunity?"

Jin Ren asked, "This is a good opportunity to show our loyalty to the Tang Dynasty! We can take advantage of this opportunity to send troops to attack Baekje and contain them."

Crown Prince Jin Famin angrily said, "Third brother, have you lost your mind in Chang'an? How can you say such stupid things! They are rude to Silla. We should take this opportunity to sit back and watch. Only then will they pay attention to us in the future!"

Jin Renwen shook his head and said, "No, we must not stand idly by in this war."

Kim Yu-shin asked coldly, "Why?" He was not polite at all to the prince who asked Kim In-sun.

He was the greatest general of Silla, commanding a large army. King Kim Chunchu of Silla was able to ascend the throne thanks to his support.

Jin Renwen turned his head to look at Jin Yuxin and said, "General Jin, think about it, what would happen if Goguryeo and Baekje won this battle?"

Kim Yu-shin frowned and said nothing.

Jin Ren asked, "You must have guessed it. They won't continue to attack the Tang Dynasty. Instead, they will turn around and deal with us first!"

Crown Prince Jin Famin shouted, "What are you afraid of? It's not like they haven't joined forces to attack us before, and we've always repelled them."

Jin Ren asked, "That's because of the threat from the Tang Dynasty. They don't dare to attack with all their might. If Yingzhou is captured, they will have nothing to worry about."

Jin Beommin was stunned for a moment and was about to say something, but Jin Yushin raised his hand to interrupt him, "Prince, I'm sorry, but what the Third Prince said is correct."

Jin Renwen continued, "If the Tang Dynasty wins, and we sit idly by, they will become even more alienated from us. Once we lose the Tang Dynasty's protection, not only will Goguryeo and Baekje be fearless, but the vicious wolf of Japan will also pounce on us!"

Silla King Kim Chunchu finally spoke.

"Third Brother, it's not that we don't want to send troops, but the Tang Dynasty didn't send an envoy to ask us to send troops!"

Jin Ren asked, "Then we should take the initiative to go over there and express our willingness to send troops and obey the orders of the Tang Dynasty!"

Jin Famin angrily said, "What kind of bullshit are you talking about? Are we the great Silla just dogs of the Tang Dynasty?"

Jin Renwen said in a deep voice, "Don't worry about face. The interests of the country should be the most important. For now, we should rely on the Tang Dynasty to annex Baekje and unify the Three Kingdoms of Korea! Only when we are strong enough in the future will we no longer need to rely on the Tang Dynasty."

Jin Chunqiu touched his chin, looked at Jin Yuxin, and said, "General Jin, what do you think of what the third brother said?"

Jin Yuxin narrowed his eyes and said, "The Third Prince's words make some sense, but he overlooked one possibility, which is exactly the most likely one."

Jin Chunqiu asked hurriedly: "What?"

Jin Yuxin smiled and said, "The Tang Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms were both defeated!"

Crown Prince Jin Famin exclaimed, "Yes, there is such a possibility!"

Jin Yushin laughed and said, "The governor of Yingzhou is, after all, just an old Tang scholar. Facing the combined forces of the three kingdoms, he can't escape unscathed. Once they are both defeated, we can seize the opportunity to annex Baekje!"

Jin Chunqiu slapped his thigh and said, "As expected of General Jin, I'll do as you say!"

Jin Renwen asked anxiously: "Father..."

Jin Chunqiu glanced at him and said in a cold tone, "Third brother, you've been running all the way, you should go and rest."

Jin Renwen sighed deeply and left.

In the following days, Jin Renwen became depressed, drank to relieve his sorrow, joined the Hwarang, and no longer cared about state affairs.

Hwarang was a youth organization of the Silla aristocratic class, and its leader was called Fengyuezhu. Kim Chunchu and Kim Yu-shin had both served as Fengyuezhu.

Days passed one by one. One day, Jin Renwen was playing musical instruments with several Hwarang when a guard came to him and said that the king had summoned him to the palace.

Jin Renwen came to the palace and saluted Jin Chunqiu who was sitting on the tiger chair.

Just like last time, Kim Beom-min and Kim Yu-shin were also in the palace.

Jin Chunqiu's face didn't look good, and he smiled bitterly and said, "Third Brother, the war between the Tang Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms is over."

Jin Renwen was surprised: "So fast?"

Jin Famin said bitterly, "It's all the fault of those Baekje idiots. They actually overestimated their own capabilities and challenged the Tang Dynasty navy. They are simply stupid!"

Jin Renwen asked anxiously, "What happened?"

Jin Chunqiu said in a deep voice, "I'll let Famin tell you the details of the war on the way. You two brothers, go to Chang'an immediately and ask the Tang Dynasty to send troops to join us in destroying Baekje!"

(End of this chapter)